The second Rune War: a league of legends story
by dtown13
Summary: Garen Crownguard and Katarina Du Couteau were destined to be enemies from the day they were born, but petty rivalries can be put aside when the fate of their world is on the line. A/N: Please drop a review to let me know if I should continue this story!
1. Misconceptions and Mercy

Chapter 1: Misconceptions and Mercy

"Find the assassin!" That was all that she could hear as she darted through the darkened woods on the outskirts of the city. Katarina Du Couteau had been in and escaped plenty of tight spots already in her young career as an assassin, but she feared this mistake may have proved to be fatal. She was only 18 years old, daughter of revered Noxian general and legendary assassin Marcus Du Couteau, and the youngest ever Noxian commander. For all her brilliance she could still be immature at times and her petulance was the cause of her very predicament. "Why did I have to be so stupid" Katarina muttered to herself. The footsteps and shouting had died down so she decided to catch her breath and assess her situation in a crevice at the base of a large tree. Katarina looked down at the whole arrow that was lodged in her knee and groaned as the pain began to set in after her rush of adrenaline depleted. A long red streak had formed down her left eye that severely stung, a souvenir she picked up from her target. She was in a wooded area just outside the massive capital city of Demacia, the direct and biggest rival of her home Noxus. Katarina had been tasked with eliminating a Demacian Lieutenant who was marching on to Noxian territory, but her arrogance led her astray when she heard of a Demacian general in the area. Recognizing the chance to flex her talents, she easily took out the general only to find out that the original target marched into Noxus and destroyed a valuable military base. Katarina felt personally responsible for the loss and tracked the Lieutenant back to the very heart of Demacia where she found herself now. She had killed him, but was now under hot pursuit by a huge Demacian military contingent. She had been wounded in her escape and was now stuck in enemy territory. Moving quickly was becoming more and more difficult with the injury, and the chances of making it out alive were quickly declining. Katarina knew by now that the soldiers had surrounded the exits of the forest and would soon come for her. She was trained all her life to be fearless in the face of death, but now that it actually confronted her it was an entirely new feeling. She sat there unable to move, deciding whether or not to take her own life before she was tortured for information and then killed. Getting it over with quickly seemed like the best option, but it was still hard to accept. Her thoughts were disturbed when she heard the distinct crunch of leaves under foot. Even in her panic Katarina had made a decoy trail away from her actual location, so it was surprising to see a brain dead soldier able to actually track her. She sat holding her breath while the footsteps got closer, and she prepared to do what she could to avoid capture. In a flash Katarina darted around the tree and thrust her blades at the throat of the Demacian soldier. It was a simple and effective maneuver, one that she had successfully executed many times before. This unlucky soldier should have been dead before he hit the ground, but he was stunningly quick. Katarina's daggers instead met air as her momentum carried her past her foe. Before she could turn around the Demacian shoved her into the ground and kicked her square in the ribs expelling what seemed like all of the air in her body. She rolled over expecting to see the soldier with his sword drawn ready to finish the fight, but instead he was still. It was dark, and all that she gathered about him was that he was tall and had deep blue eyes, which the moonlight reflected off. "Crownguard! Did you find anything?" a voice demanded from the distance. Katarina fully expected this soldier to call his friends over to assist in her capture. "It was a false alarm! There's nothing over here, she must have escaped"

the Demacian yelled back. "I thought you were supposed to be an expert tracker! What should we tell the Colonel?" His comrade asked. "I'll tell him it was my fault and she must have escaped by now" "Crownguard the Colonel will have your ass for this if you tell him that!" "I'll deal with it". Katarina was shocked by this entire exchange. What did this Crownguard character have to gain by letting her free she wondered. While she was thinking of reasons why she was spared, the Demacian reached down snapped the arrow that was jutting through her knee in half and removed it causing her to wince. He then tossed her a roll of bandages and left his flask of water before jogging back the way he came. Katarina sat there and processed all that had just happened. The name Crownguard seemed so familiar to her but she couldn't understand why until now. The Crownguard family was one of the most powerful and respected royal houses in Demacia, and word had spread around the Noxian military of a skilled military officer from that same lineage. Garen Crownguard "The Might of Demacia", Katarina had heard the stories about him. The youngest lieutenant in the history of the Dauntless Vanguard, Demacia's elite fighting force. He was the same age as her, but had already earned a reputation as a brilliant soldier and leader. He was known to be ruthless and efficient, and had recently led a series of devastating campaigns into Noxian territory. Katarina should have felt grateful that he spared her life, but instead she felt enraged. It must have taken overwhelming arrogance to think he could just toy with her life like that. She hated being at his mercy, and she swore to herself that if they ever crossed paths again, she would show him who was really in control. Garen's mind wandered as he made his way back to his rendezvous point. If anyone in Demacia found out what he had really just done, he would be banished if he was lucky. Not even his connection with the crown prince of Demacia Jarvan Lightshield would save him. Ever since he was a child, the sentiment of hating Noxians was drilled into him, just like every other Demacian. But he could never understand why he should unconditionally hate anyone without a good reason. Garen believed everyone had good in them, and in Demacia this was a very dangerous opinion to possess. He made his way through the crowds of soldiers at the rendezvous until he found his commanding officer. "Crownguard, what's your report?" demanded the Colonel. "She escaped through the woods there was no sign of her anywhere" Garen offered. "I find it hard to believe that a tracker as skilled as you was unable to find any trace of a sloppy rookie spy. Maybe you aren't as good as they say you are. I sure as hell ain't seen you do anything special; you're just some upstart who got here because his friend is the prince." Garen took the insults unflinchingly. He was used to them at this point, the Colonel was a jealous man who couldn't stand the fact that Garen was likely to become the next Commander of the Dauntless Vanguard ahead of him. "Or maybe, your loyalty is just as flimsy as your father's and you chose saving some little girls life over doing your duty." The other insults Garen would take without reaction, but this one he would not stomach. "Don't ever question my loyalty or my fathers again." Garen said coldly. The Colonel was surprised by this response. He was trying to get a fiery outburst out of his lieutenant, but was instead treated with a cold, unfeeling, command. "I'll question whoever's loyalty I god damn want to!" The Colonel screamed inches from Garen's expressionless face. "I'm the Colonel of the Dauntless Vanguard!" "Yes, but you are not the Commander and likely never will be." Garen knew what he was saying would likely have severe consequences, but he decided he didn't care. "I heard you were once a great and respected leader, and you were on track to eventually command this unit. Now I wonder what they ever saw in you." "Have you lost your damn mind boy!?" The Colonel questioned threateningly. "Maybe I was right to question your loyalty after all Crownguard, just like your father, you insolent little shit. " Rage boiled within Garen at the slandering of his father, but he had gotten under the skin of the Colonel as well, this was very dangerous territory, but it was too late for him to back down now. "With respect Colonel, you're a vindictive asshole and my father is twice the man you ever were." "Is that so? Well I'm sure he would like to know that his son is doing so well on patrol duty in Bilgewater. Because that's where you'll be headed." "Yes sir" Garen replied flippantly before walking away. It felt good to say what he did to that dickhead of a Colonel, but he was pissed that it cost him his position. He fell in line and continued the march back to the Demacian capital city. As he walked he contemplated his decisions of the last few hours. Why didn't I just kill her? He thought to himself. Although he knew deep down he probably couldn't have done it even if he wanted to. She looked hurt and scared, probably around the same age as him, she was just stuck in this pointless conflict. She didn't deserve to die because of the actions of her higher ups. Garen didn't know it at the time, but that girl, Katarina DuCouteau, was someone he would regret showing mercy to.

Katarina limped towards the Noxian capital that finally appeared in the distance. It had been 2 weeks since she was almost captured in Demacia and she was glad to be back in familiar territory. The arrow wound in her knee was painful, but it had almost healed without permanent damage. When she approached the gates the guards saw who she was and immediately helped her to a healer. "You're lucky you escaped with your knee like this," the healer mentioned as she continued her treatment. Katarina laughed slightly in agreement remembering just how she escaped. Garen Crownguard had made her feel weak and powerless, and she hated him for it. She was thankful that she was alive, but was determined to show herself that she was in control of her own destiny. "Now let me work on fixing that cut on your eye." "Actually it's fine you don't have to" replied Katarina. "Are you sure? It will scar if you leave it." Insisted the healer. "I'm sure, sometimes it's good to keep a reminder of your mistakes," said Katarina. And a reminder it would be she thought, to be more disciplined and less emotional. After getting treatment Katarina made her way home through the streets of North Noxus Prime. The city of Noxus Prime was huge and expansive, to an outsider it could look intimidating and unwelcoming, but to Noxians it represented everything they valued most. Strength, power, courage, race and gender meant nothing to them so long as you could prove yourself. In that way, it was one of the most inclusive cities in all of Valoran, even more so than the virtuous Demacian capital. The city center had skyscraper-sized buildings with the Noxian grand general's palace positioned in the middle. This area was where all the royal houses of Noxus resided. The buildings were made of a lighter colored stone, which gave the area its nickname; The Ivory Ward. Katarina's ancestral manor, belonging to the royal Noxian house DuCouteau was located here. When she got to her grand estate, she was met by servants who ushered her through the gates. "Your father is waiting for you," the head servant of house DuCouteau mentioned. Katarina rolled her eyes "of course he is. Thank you for the heads up." She reluctantly entered the house fully expecting to be berated and belittled almost immediately. Instead, she was met with a warm embrace from her father. "Are you ok?" With a worried tone in his voice. "Yeah dad I'm fine, I thought we weren't supposed to show weakness like this." Her comment elicited a funny look from her father. "Kat, just because we are assassin's doesn't mean we aren't human. Besides, nothing is more important than family, not your loyalty to Noxus or anything else" he said decidedly. "But now I know that you're ok, what in the hell were you thinking? You had those orders for a reason." There was the Marcus DuCouteau Katarina knew so well. "I'm sorry, I saw the chance to take down a higher ranking officer and I took it. It seemed like the right play at the time" she insisted. Marcus looked unimpressed, "you disobeyed orders and failed your mission. I have no choice but to suspend you for the next few assassination missions." Katarina was stunned, "But I killed my target and eliminated another high ranking officer, if anything you should be promoting me!" She screamed. "That was only after your original target decimated your unit completely and obtained something very valuable from that base you were protecting" Marcus proclaimed sternly. "Wait what? I thought it was just a base, I was never told I was protecting something" Katarina was genuinely confused, the military base she was protecting just seemed like it was valued for it's position. When she looked over at her father he looked slightly conflicted. Eventually he sighed and said "Yes Kat, the base you were protecting had an ancient artifact that's said to have some great power or something. I don't exactly know, I stopped paying attention during this part of the meeting with the high council, but you get the picture. I was told that the artifact is only a part of a whole relic."

"So do we know where the others are or…"

"We're working on it, the artifacts seem to cause strange events in the areas they're located."

"What kind of strange events? And why haven't they come up before?" Questioned Katarina.

"Rifts to the void have been opening up and letting in some ghastly creatures. As for the second part of your question I have no idea. All I do know is that everyone in Valoran is after these artifacts now. And although I suspended you from action officially, Grand General Darkwill wants this done off the books, so I need you to go retrieve an artifact."

"From where?" Katarina asked inquisitively.

"The sulfuric flats of Zaun" Marcus replied.

"Ok when do I leave?"

"Now hold on, take a few days here to rest, and then go when you're one hundred percent."

"Alright sounds good."

Katarina didn't want to show it but she was secretly ecstatic. Sure it wasn't really being an assassin, but it was much better than being on the sidelines. She had a new sense of purpose now; finding the artifacts, and this was a mission she was determined to complete.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Far Side of the World

*15 Months Later somewhere off the coast of the blue flame islands, Guardian's Sea, international waters*

 _HMS Lively, 40 guns, 197 souls_

 _Admiralty Orders for: Cpt. G. Crownguard_

 _Pursue and engage Noxian Privateer Ship NSS Hotspur_

 _Sink, Burn, or take her for a prize…_

Garen stared at his surroundings intently, the weariness on his face was obvious. The sun had not yet risen and a thick fog rolled in over the calm waters. He had been chasing the elusive Noxian privateer vessel: the NSS Hotspur. It was the most feared ship in the fleet, and the offensive capabilities it possessed were still unknown. All that Garen knew about it was that it had decimated three of Gangplank's frigates without sustaining any serious damage, and that was more than enough to make him wary. After all, he was still a novice captain and had only been working with ships for 15 months. As Garen pondered his situation, the sound of his lieutenant and chief of lookout snapped him back into focus.

"BEAT TO QUARTERS!" his Lieutenant shouted.

The crew began scrambling into their battle stations, and Garen quickly came to his Lieutenant's side.

"Riggs, what the hell man? Why did you give that order?" He asked the young boy in a quiet but frustrated voice.

"Two klicks off the starboard side sir" Riggs whispered hurriedly, handing Garen the spyglass.

Garen put his eye up to the cold metal and scanned the horizon.

"What am I supposed to be looking at lieutenant?" He asked in a half-joking tone. All he could see was the ghoulish layer of fog that obscured his vision.

"Sorry sir, I thought I saw a shape in the distance" his lieutenant replied sheepishly.

"Its alright, this fog can play tricks on your eyes, you did the right thing" Garen put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

He trusted Damian Riggs with his life after what they had gone through together in the 13 months prior. Garen learned that his lieutenant was a rare talent, a ship spotting prodigy and excellent soldier. The boy was only 16, but without him, Garen would never have made it this far. Riggs had an uncanny knack for anticipating ambushes and enemy maneuvers, and this ability had saved them many times. Although Garen didn't see a ship in the distance, he still kept himself on high alert. If Riggs thought he saw something, it was worth readying the crew for battle.

Garen continued to look through the spyglass for the next few minutes and almost gave up right before he saw it. In the distance there was a series of orange flashes that penetrated the fog. Garen hadn't been around ships long, but he had come to understand what those flashes entailed.

"EVERYBODY DOWN" he screamed frantically.

He barely had time to get the words out before the deck began to splinter around him. The barrage of cannon balls seemed endless. Garen's ears were ringing, and he had a sharp pain in his side. When he looked down, a blood-soaked piece of wood was jutting out of him. The artillery onslaught continued. How many fucking guns does that thing have? He found himself wondering as he struggled to his feet. The cannon fire had finally stopped and Garen ripped the piece of wood from his side, it looked bad, but was fortunately not as deep as he originally thought. He turned to look at the source of the attack and a massive sail had materialized out of the fog. The sail belonged to a ship the likes of which Garen had never seen, it was gargantuan, with metal plates guarding the hull from enemy cannonballs. It was lined with guns, but not the typical single fire cannons that were standard on ships. These cannons had three barrels that rotated like Gatling guns, allowing for a devastating rate of fire for a cannon. Garen peered through his spyglass to check the detailed engraving on the bow of the ship. It read: _HOTSPUR._ THIS was the ship he was expected to take down? Who the fuck's idea was this? These kinds of missions made him question the Demacian top brass and how much they actually cared about their soldiers. This was suicide.

He wasn't supposed to be here. When Garen had received his new posting in Bilgewater, it was meant to be a boring desk job, a dead end to his career. But his dumb ambition had landed him in this situation. Demacia and Noxus were in a ceasefire, but Demacia still continued the fight using proxy wars. They enlisted the help of the pirate Gangplank to gather intel on the Noxian navy, and destroy ships when possible. Gangplank was not attached to Demacia, so they technically weren't committing an act of war by doing this if no one found out. When Garen found out about these off the books missions, he managed to sneak into one of Gangplank's crews. He quickly proved his worth in combat to the notorious pirate, and became a regular in Gangplank's inner circle. When the Demacian government found out that Garen had disobeyed orders they threatened to withdraw him, but with Gangplank's insistence, he instead received a new position. He was to be the Demacian point of contact with Gangplank since the pirate trusted him, and more recently, he was promoted to captain in the Demacian Royal Navy.

So here he was, on a ship that was outgunned, outmanned, and outmatched, awaiting imminent destruction. The Noxian ship was closing the distance and had reloaded preparing another There was no deus ex machina to save him, he realized he wasn't the hero of this story, this was real life and there was no destiny he was meant to fulfill. This was the end for Garen Crowng…

"Oh come on dude, I know you survived or else you wouldn't be here, you don't have to be so dramatic" Lucian said with a laugh.

"Hey it adds to the ambiance! Don't look at me like that." Garen said through a smile to his childhood friend.

Garen and Lucian were sitting in their new apartment in downtown Demacia, they were in a luxury high rise and could see the beautiful city outside their window. Garen had just gotten back from Bilgewater two days ago and was filling his friend in on some of his missions, namely his most famous endeavor, the capture of the Noxian juggernaut ship HMS Hotspur. It had become international news; the journal of justice featured it on its front page. So far, no one suspected Demacia, but Noxus was running an investigation. Garen was about to continue his story when the door to their apartment open.

"Hey Lucian, you wanna grab…" Quinn paused momentarily when she saw Garen before realizing who it was and rushing over to embrace him.

"GAREN YOU'RE BACK" She said with an excited smile stretched across her face.

"I am! It's so good to see you!" Garen replied.

"It feels like it's been so long! I was just coming over to check out the new apartment and ask if Lucian wanted to get dinner with me and Sona, but he didn't mention you were back yet." She said with an accusatory glance at Lucian.

"To be fair, he only arrived yesterday, I really didn't have time to call you! My ward has been dead for the last two days!" Lucian mentioned slightly defensively.

"Oh that's why you haven't been answering our calls" Quinn said in a tone of realization.

"Well do you guys wanna get dinner with us? It'll be just like back at the academy!" Quinn suggested.

"Well I'd love to, but Garen was just telling me the riveting story about how he stole the HMS Hotspur from Noxus" replied Lucian.

"It WAS you! Wow I can't believe Janna was right about that. I definitely need to hear this story, start from the beginning." Quinn took a seat on the couch next to Lucian and eagerly awaited Garen's tale.

"Wait, I already listened to the beginning though. How about I go and get Sona and pick us up some dinner while Garen tells you the beginning of the story, and when we get back he can finish it" suggested Lucian.

"How many times am I gonna have to tell this thing guys?" Garen said with playful exasperation.

"Well Lux is going to want to hear it, same with Jayce, Jarvan, Caitlin, Janna, Ezreal, Vayne, and Fiora" said Quinn.

"Good Gods, well when they get out of the academy for break I'll tell it to them."

"Alright well I'm going to go get Sona and food, I'll be back in like 30-45 minutes. Oh wait Garen let me borrow your ward in case you guys need to call me."

Garen tossed Lucian his ward and began to recount what occurred during his time in Bilgewater. He couldn't help but think how much he had missed his friends. To him, they were more like family. Garen had attended the prestigious Demacian Royal Academy, one of the best schools in all of Valoran. Every city state bar Noxus sent their best and brightest to the academy to be groomed for high ranking military positions and political offices. It was during his time at this academy where Garen met his closest friends; Janna, Fiora, Vayne, Quinn, Jayce, Ezreal, Lucian, Caitlyn, and Sona. Jarvan was another close friend, but he was tutored by the most elite scholars, and therefore did not attend the academy because of his status as heir to the throne. Garen, Lucian, Quinn, and Sona were all in the most recent class of academy graduates, while the rest of their friends, including Garen's younger sister, were one or two classes below. Having grown up away at the academy, with excellent military and tactical training, these kids were seen as battle ready as soon as they graduated. Garen was sent to the Dauntless Vanguard immediately, while Quinn was sent to the Demacian scouts. Lucian was a member of the golden marksman, the elite fire team in Demacia.

Garen was just getting to the place in the story where he was with Lucian, and Quinn was absolutely absorbed in it. The sound of the door opening and the smell of food was enough to interrupt the story yet again.

"This is gonna taste so good" Lucian was saying to Sona as they waltzed into the room.

"Sona! I've missed you!" Garen exclaimed as he walked over to give his friend a warm hug.

Sona strummed a genial tune that indicated she felt the same way.

"What did you guys get?" asked Garen.

"It's southern Demacian, we got a bunch of different pasta dishes" Lucian replied excitedly. "Also I filled Sona in on the story so you can continue from where we stopped."

"That was nice of you" Quinn added, teasing slightly. "I'll get some plates and then you can finally finish the story Garen."

"It's about time"

"Oh shut up"

Garen's head was still ringing, and the wound from his side bled a surprising amount for how minor he had thought it was. His vision was blurred and he was severely disoriented, spinning around to look at the state of his ship and crew. The prognosis was terrible. His ships main sail had been peppered with cannonballs, leaving them unable to flee at high speeds. As for the crew, it was carnage and pandemonium, bodies scattered the main deck, and cries of "medic" rang out overwhelmingly. Garen stumbled through the bloodied scene searching for Riggs, but was interrupted by a booming announcement via the Noxian vessel.

"That was a warning shot! Surrender your cargo or you will be annihilated!"

What the hell do they want with all these drugs? Garen wondered to himself, the Noxians clearly didn't know who he was, or that the ship he captained was actually Demacian, but they were after what he had on board. Had they been tracking him? They must have been, but he figured there were easier ways to get the Ionian drugs he was carrying for trade.

"Wait wait wait, you're telling me you were fucking smuggling drugs?" Quinn asked, a hint of anger, but mostly disbelief in her voice.

"Oh, my god. Holy shit are you going to keep interrupting me or can I finish the story?" Garen replied with teasing sarcasm.

Quinn shot him a disapproving look, but allowed him to continue.

"I'll answer all your questions at the end" Garen assured her. With Quinn seemingly satisfied he continued the story…

Garen didn't know why exactly the Noxians wanted his cargo, but he wracked his brain for any clue he could find until it hit him. The conversation he had with the pirate Gangplank right before he set sail: _"Garen, you have a last minute addition to the payload."_

" _Ok what kind of addition?" Garen asked._

" _Nothing too big, just a chest with some old collectors items of mine that an old friend in Ionia seemed to want." Gangplank said with a mischievous and knowing grin._

" _Yeah, I'm sure that all it is." Garen replied skeptically._

" _Garen me boy! You never let me down, but let me just emphasize the importance of this delivery. I've come to respect you, but that respect hardly extends to your countrymen. My point is, if this delivery is not completed, I might have no choice but to reveal Demacia's involvement in the skullduggery I been partaking in lately. Have I made meself clear laddy?"_

" _Aye sir, crystal clear."_

" _Arghhh that's what I like to hear."_

" _Did you just say argh?"_

"… _Yeah it happens on occasion… uhhh but never mind that now, you best be going."_

It must be the chest they're after! Garen suddenly realized. If Noxus wanted it so badly though, he was not inclined to give it to them. Instead he thought of an escape plan before responding to the inquiry of the Noxian ship, which was now within shouting distance of his own.

"We will turn over the cargo we are carrying, if you promise to cease fire and take us peacefully onto your ship." Garen offered.

The Noxians accepted the deal, on the grounds that they take custody of the ship and its cargo. Garen quickly ran below deck to inform his crew of the new plan. "Where's Damian?" He demanded. "Riggs is with the medic sir, he's hurt badly, what do you need?" Another one of his officers questioned. "Hextech explosives, with motion triggers, and two of those chests that Gangplank uses to store things." His officer hurried away to fetch the supplies and Garen went off to check on his friend. He was lying in a blood soaked bed, but appeared to be completely fine when Garen entered the room. "Hey Riggs, good to see you! I'm glad to see you're not that hur… OH MY GOD." Riggs turned slightly in his bed to face him, exposing the remnants of his mangled right arm to Garen's view. Pieces of wood were lodged in it, and the bone jutted out from his forearm, completely snapped. "Oh my fuck." Was all Garen could manage. "I'll be ok sir, I'm a lefty anyway." Garen could not believe the mettle that the boy possessed, but still felt sorry for him. That arm would have to come off.

Moments later, the officer who he had sent off earlier returned, and Garen called for his crew's attention. "All right boys, we're going to be occupied and those Noxians will transport us over to their ship, but be absolutely ready to fight when you get over there. "How will we fight if we're captured and they outnumber us?" One of the men asked. "Trust me, they won't outnumber us for long." Garen replied slyly, and went about setting his plan in motion.

They successfully made the transfer over to the Noxians ship, and just as he planned, the Noxian captain and most of his armed men went over to fetch the cargo from his old ship. This left Garen and all his remaining crew, with a substantially smaller amount of Noxians aboard the vessel. Although Garen and his crew had been tied up, they were pirates, and always had a trick, or in this case a knife, up their sleeve. Within minutes almost all of them were untied, but continued to pretend to be subdued until the right time. That time would come very shortly. A scream of "OH SHIT WHAT THE HELL" from aboard Garen's old ship, followed by a massive explosion, gave his men the signal they needed to spring the trap. They shed their bindings and dispatched the nearest Noxians soldiers they could find. The element of surprise, combined with the almost supernatural fighting ability of Garen meant the skirmish on the _NSS Hotspur_ was over very shortly. Garen and his crew celebrated their victory from the deck of the Noxian super-ship, while they watched their old ship's wreckage burn and sink into the sea.

"Hold up G, can you explain what the hell just happened in simpler terms? I feel like you missed a few steps in there. " Lucian proclaimed.

"Ok that's fair." Said Garen, who began to explain things more clearly.

"Basically, we put hextech explosives with a motion trigger inside the chests that contained what the Noxians wanted. Then they took us onto their ship because we were 'captured'. We all had hidden knives that we used to cut the ropes they tied our hands with, and waited for the right moment to attack. The captain and many of his armed soldiers, then went aboard my ship to retrieve the chests, but when they opened them, they triggered the motion sensor and the explosives sent them all to hell. That thinned out their numbers, and we killed the Noxians that remained aboard the Hotspur, subsequently capturing it."

Lucian seemed happy with the elaboration, but Quinn still seemed to have questions, as she always did. "So are you going to explain why the hell you were running drugs for Gangplank?"

"Ok I was stuck on a shitty, career-ending post, and I wanted to make some extra money, and I really did. Like, it was an incredibly lucrative business venture" Garen reasoned.

"Maybe so, but also incredibly dangerous, immoral, and stupid" Quinn retorted.

"Wait, immoral? You do realize they were gonna get the drugs regardless of whether or not I…" A penetrating glare from Quinn made Garen change the course of his statement. "I mean, sorry _mom,_ it won't happen again."

"You're damn right" she said with a slight giggle, "but honestly, that was an awesome story, I'm kind of jealous that you're able to do that cool shit."

"I'm with Quinn, you're the only one out of the academy that is getting to put their training to use, Garen" Lucian added.

"I don't know man, it might sound cliché, but real war and combat is different out there. The blood, the violence, the death... just, everything. When they train you, they can't simulate what it's actually like to kill someone, it's disgusting, honestly." Garen replied somewhat solemnly.

"I mean, I can't imagine that it's nice killing someone, but they're Noxians, what they've done to other civilizations is horrific, they deserve it, if anything" Quinn offered as a justification.

"It's for the good of Demacia, Garen. I believe you when you say killing is rough, but it needs to be done, hopefully we'll all just get used to it" Said Lucian.

"It's not something I want to get used to, guys, I don't care who they are, they're still people, they have emotions, feelings, families, and we have to take that from them. It makes me sick. I'm afraid that I will become numb to it, and I notice that it's already getting easier, I'm being robbed of my humanity."

"Well just think of it this way, you killing people saves lives, and spares others of that atrocity, that's our job here. It isn't pretty, but this is much better than the all out wars we used to have." Lucian explained.

"How long do you think this relative peace will last though? It's not hard to see that another war is on the horizon it seems like."

Quinn and Lucian exchanged quizzical glances before Quinn decided to speak. "Did you not hear about the formation of the institute of war?"

Garen had heard rumors that it could happen, but never imagined the nations of Valoran would be willing to sacrifice their power in exchange for it's inception. This would mean war would not be an option with the power the institute theoretically possessed. There would be no massive war between Demacia and Noxus like there had been in the past, a thought that put Garen's mind at ease.

"You're telling me it's going to happen?"

"Yeah all of the nations voted on it a few months ago, you must have been out at sea too long" Quinn Joked. Garen laughed, but noticed Sona, who had been quiet, sitting there with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Something on your mind?" He insisted. She strummed her Etwahl and brought the memory of the chest Gangplank had given him to everyone's mind.

"Damn she's right, what the hell were you transporting that the Noxians wanted so badly?" Lucian questioned.

"Oh, right! Yeah I'm not actually sure it was some weird stone, kind of like a piece to a bigger puzzle." This elicited an excited look from his friends.

"Did it have any writing on it?"

"I don't know maybe some inscriptions from ancient Shurima, and now that I think about it, the stone did have some weird drawings on it."

Lucian smiled and Quinn laughed disbelievingly. "Quinn was right, G, you have been at sea too long, we're going to see General Laurent tomorrow, he'll want to know everything you remember about that" Lucian stated.

"What? Why?" Garen asked, clearly confused.

"Because that, my friend, was the last piece of the relic."


	3. Pilfering in Piltover

Chapter 3: Pilfering in Piltover

Katarina pulled her black hood over her head to cover up as much of her face as she could. The bright lights in the city of progress made anonymity quite the chore. Her notoriety around Valoran was growing to new heights. Her moniker; the sinister blade was becoming a main stay on the watch list of every nation on the continent. She hoped that they didn't have her picture on file in Piltover.

The city was incredibly populated, and the building structure was modern, unlike the classical architecture in Demacia and Noxus. They used huge panes of glass and golden designs to decorate their city. Machinery was very prominent as well, the city center spectacular high rises that were lit up from the inside and glowed against the night sky. Katarina was not used to this, in any other city, nighttime was dark, but here it was as though the sun never set, she couldn't even see the stars. Even still, she stuck to the shadows, and took alleyways when possible, en route to Piltover's ecliptic vaults. If the intel she had received was correct, then her target would be there. Another artifact, or so it was thought. She had already rounded up 3, but none were as heavily guarded as this one was sure to be.

Katarina made her way to the city center, doing her best to avoid the prying eyes of those who passed her. People seemed to take great interest in her, despite the attempts she made to be discreet. Katarina couldn't help but wonder if the black hooded cloak that she wore actually made her more suspicious looking, it certainly appeared that way. Regardless, she pressed on, eventually arriving at her intended destination.

In front of her stood an imposing and elaborate structure, unlike any she had seen before. It almost reminded her of a castle, but the center was cylindrical and covered in reflective glass and had ample lighting all around it. From the center, 4 independent rectangular buildings branched out, connected to the core by sky bridges. It was a feat of engineering genius.

The building surprisingly wasn't surrounded by guards, or walled off from the public, there was a simple heavy-duty gate with a checkpoint run by a guard and a chain linked metal fence with razor wire on top of it around the perimeter. Katarina could tell that Piltover was not a militarized country like Demacia and Noxus mostly were, the security was way too light. She made her way to a secluded point in the fence and took out the laser powered wire clippers that Victor had given to her in Zaun. After making a small hole in the fence, she slipped into the complex.

There were a few more guards than she originally had seen from outside, but overall the coverage was still pretty lax. The area was well landscaped, there were trees and bushes, which perked up the atmosphere, but also provided Katarina with potential hiding spots. She noticed a pair of patrolling soldiers scanning the perimeter near where she had entered, and took advantage of the cover provided by a near by tree. The soldiers seemed to stop eerily close to where Katarina stood, and her heart began to race. She mentally prepared herself to kill them, but they simply struck up a conversation with each other instead.

"Hey did you find anything out about why we're here tonight?"

"Nah, I think it's because of that cool rock they found in the voodoo lands though. It must be pretty valuable if they set up this fence and closed off the vault."

Their conversation confirmed Katarina's intel, the artifact was indeed here. She took a deep breath and steadied her hands as she got ready to reveal herself and slit the guards throats, but a continuation of their conversation caused her to hesitate.

"Yeah it's really strange, normally this place is like a public park and museum, I just took my kid here the other day."

"That must have been fun, it's been a while since I brought my family here, but when it opens back up I'll have to make the trip."

Katarina's heart sunk, they had families, children, she had no desire to kill them. She tried to rationalize the conflict that was taking place within her. On the one hand Noxus isn't even at war with Piltover, there's no reason to kill them, but leaving them alive could jeopardize the mission if they were to detect her. She was getting tired of having this moral dialogue within herself every time she received a questionable assignment. Serving Noxus was a dream come true for her, but she couldn't help but question why she had to kill people who so often seemed innocent. Eventually, she decided she could make do with knocking them unconscious, despite the fact it was more difficult.

After hiding their sleeping forms, she continued her journey to the main vault. When she arrived at the central building, her suspicions were confirmed, the melon sized piece of stone that was so highly sought after by every kingdom in Valoran was displayed in the center like a museum set. Such naïve security, she thought to herself. To her satisfaction the front door was unlocked and the lights were on inside. Katarina slowly approached the display case in the center of the room, suspicious of how easy it all seemed…

"Who the hell are you?" A voice questioned from behind her.

Katarina stopped in her tracks, heart racing, assessing her options as quickly as possible.

"Well are you gonna answer me or just stand there?"

There's only one person, I can kill him quickly and steal the artifact, she thought. Damn, this was supposed to be non-violent, but her survival depended on it now. She took a deep breath in, steadying herself, and in her trademark taunting voice replied. "You guys really need to step up your protection around here."

"I know, that's what I've been telling peop… WHAT THE HELL"

Before the man could finish Katarina whipped around and unleashed a flurry of throwing knives. She smirked, it was always so easy for her…

"Oh you've gone and done it now"

The smile on her face disappeared, how did he dodge it? She took a good look at her opponent, he was about 6 feet tall, with blonde hair and an attractive face, he was dressed in brown clothes, and wor but the most noticeable feature about him was the gauntlet he wore on his hand.

"Jayce! Get in here, we got a problem." The man yelled, calling for backup.

This was bad, Katarina didn't want to attract this much attention. She could hear the footsteps of the other man coming down the hall, and quickly aimed a knife in that direction.

"Ez what the hell man it's your shift I was just… OH MY FUCK" He dodged the knife, but barely. "Ok, wow, you weren't kidding were you Ezreal"

"Yeah, no this could be bad."

Katarina was surprised at the skill of the two men before her, and she didn't want to find out what this new guy could do with the giant hammer he wielded. She did her best to sound confident and threatening as she spoke to them "Listen, you obviously know I'm here for the artifact, just give it to me and you guys get to keep all your limbs. How does that sound?"

Her front didn't work. "Well honestly, Piltover is coming out with these new robotic arms and legs that are supposed to be way better than natural ones, and I've been looking for an excuse to get some." The blonde man named Ezreal said sarcastically.

"I hope they make robotic dicks, because you're about to lose that too" Katarina snapped.

"It's not like he uses the one he has now" The man with the hammer named Jayce added, barely containing laughter..

"JAYCE! This is NOT the time" Yelled Ezreal.

They didn't seem scared at all, but they didn't know just how good the sinister blade really was, Katarina had enough of their joking; she went on the offensive, sprinting towards them with her blades in hand. They got in a defensive position and prepared to counterstrike, but at the last second she used an assassin trick and teleported behind them. She brought both her daggers down towards Ezreal's back, but metal met metal as Jayce quickly saved his friend with his hammer. He then took a swing at her, but she easily dodged and leapt back.

"Damn she's fucking fast Ez"

"I know, so let's keep her at a distance." Ezreal replied.

"I'm good with that" Jayce said with a mischevious smile.

Katarina noticed Jayce's hammer change from gold and solid to a bluish hue with a barrel in the center, and Ezreal's gauntlet began to glow. Long-range bursts of energy began to shoot out of the hammer and Ezreal's hand, forcing Katarina to sprint away in search of cover. The glass walls of the building shattered under the bombardment as Katarina ducked behind a desk. Jayce's hammer was powerful but the shots were easy to dodge, Ezreal on the other hand was firing rapidly, pinning her behind the Desk. His power was coming from the gauntlet on his hand, if she could slice that off him she could make a charge at both of them. There was a slight break in the hail as Ezreal and Jayce talked things over.

"Do you think she's still behind the desk, or did she get away because we just stood here shooting?"

"I bet she's still behind the Desk, where else could she go?"

"I don't know Ez we just fucking blew up the walls because they're made of glass for some stupid reason, so she could've just gone through there, it's pretty dark, we wouldn't have seen her. "

"Well the artifact is still here so I don't care where she went."

Katarina took the break in fire to pop up from behind the desk and take aim with her knives.

"Oh never mind, look she's right there" Ezreal said as the knives whizzed past his arm.

"Wow you're awful at aiming those things" He taunted.

Jayce looked grimly at his friends bare arm. "Uhhhh no she isn't buddy."

Ezreal looked down at his arm "Ohhhhh. I see now. Fuck."

Katarina vaulted the desk and ran towards them. Now was her chance to get past their defenses.

"JAYCE SHOOT HER, HOLY SHIT I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

Jayce took aim and opened fire, but she was too fast for him. Katarina got inside the range of the hammer as Jayce switched it to melee mode, and delivered a kick to his chest, sending him sliding across the floor.

"Wow, Jayce you suck, how are you just gonna get kicked like that?"

"You literally just stood there and screamed at me to shoot her while doing nothing!"

"I don't do hand to hand combat! You know this!"

"Garen offered to teach you every year at the academy! Why didn't you just learn?!"

"Oh please, he just wanted an excuse to beat me up!"

"He's gonna get one from me if we make it out of this!"

"Are you two quite finished?" Katarina interjected, hands on her hips with a frustrated expression on her face.

"Um, just so you know, I actually _do_ want to keep my limbs, I was just kidding earlier haha. You got that right?" Ezreal said nervously.

Katarina rolled her eyes. These guys were skilled fighters, and seemed to be about as old as she was. She didn't want to kill them if she didn't have to, so she offered them a chance at surrendering. "Are we going to fight, or do you guys value your lives?"

"Hm I value _my_ life, but Jayce would still like to fight you I'm sure."

"Ez, I swear to god."

"Very well then, let's see if the size of that hammer is compensating for your lack of skill using it" Katarina teased.

"Oh I like her," said Ezreal.

Jayce immediately got to his feet and launched into a front flip, bringing his hammer down hard at the end of it, fracturing the ground where Katarina just was. She was able to avoid the strike, but the second one came faster than she anticipated. Although she got her daggers up into an x to block the strike, the force still sent a sharp pain through her arms and knocked her across the room. Things got worse for her as Ezreal picked something up off the ground.

"See Jayce? I found my crystal, and you know I always keep a spare gauntlet with me. I just needed you to distract her" he said, placing the crystal into the new glove which lit up as the energy began to flow through it.

Katarina cursed herself for not finishing the job sooner, and now she was outmatched once more. She quickly scanned the area for a solution, and was drawn to the lighting of the room, if she could take the lights out, she hoped her training would give her an edge over them and let her escape with the artifact. Ezreal and Jayce were readying another assault, so her window was small. With the last of her knives she spun in a circle, launching one precisely into each light fixture, bringing close to total darkness over the room.

"God damn it, how does she have so many knives?" Jayce complained.

"Yeah I was about to say, like her outfit didn't even have pockets. Where was she keeping all of those!" Ezreal added. "But also why did she break the lights, that makes it harder for everyone."

"Not for her Ez."

"Oh right because of her night vision?"

"Yeah because… wait what? Night vision? What in the hell are you talking about she doesn't have night vision."

"Are you sure? I mean her eyes were green."

"THAT DOESN… JUST BECAU… GREEN EYES DON'T MEAN YOU HAVE NIGHT VISION! How did you even go to the Demacian royal academy being this dumb?"

"Hey man, I got a better score on the final than you did, I wouldn't be talking."

"The test wasn't based on common sense so maybe I can see why you didn't fail."

While the two were arguing, Katarina fumbled her way through the darkness trying to reach the relic. They were right, she didn't have night vision, but the plan seemed to work anyway as she collected the relic piece and began to leave.

"Well shit, she's probably gone by now, Ez, what are we gonna do?" Jayce asked.

"Let's see if she took the artifact, I'll use trueshot on the ceiling so we can actually see."

"Ah good critical thinking skills their pal. Could've used that 2 minutes earlier."

"Shut up." Ezreal replied as he used his magic to momentarily light up the room.

"Well, it looks like she took it, let's call Jarvan and tell him" He concluded.

"What? Are you joking? Jarvan's just gonna freak out, call Garen."

"Now that is an idea I can get behind."

Katarina was glad to be out of the city of progress, it was crowded and noisy, and discretion was difficult, especially with the gaudy style everyone seemed to adopt. As the familiar spires of the Noxian capital peaked over the horizon, Katarina felt the satisfaction of another successful mission wash over her. She hadn't been able to visit home in over a year since her black ops mission started. She missed her father, Talon, and as much as a pain as her sister could be at times, she really missed her the most. Of course there were her friends too, Keiran Darkwill son of grand general darkwill, and Riven, and she didn't necessarily always mind Darius' company when he was around. She thought about all the stories she would share with them as she approached the outer city checkpoint. A figure sheepishly stepped out from the patrol station, and her heart sank when she recognized him.

"He.., hey Katarina. How was you t-trip?" The boy stammered nervously.

"Just give me the new orders Jacob" She snapped.

The boy looked at the ground dejectedly as he began to saunter off to retrieve the orders.

Katarina felt bad taking her frustrations out on someone who was always so nice to her, the boy really looked up to her and seemed crushed at the moment.

"Wait, I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that. My trip was good, thank you for asking, I was just looking forward to spending some time back at home so I'm a little frustrated, but it's good to see you" Katarina said with a genuine smile.

That seemed to breathe new life into the boy as he beamed at her before sprinting to retrieve the assignment dossier. "I understand completely Katarina! They must just keep sending you on missions because of how good you are!" Jacob said with glee.

"Hearing that really means a lot to me, thank you" Katarina said as she opened the folder.

The first page was a picture of Sion, and the details of the situation were underneath it.

 _A Demacian strike team from the Dauntless Vanguard has stolen the body of Sion. In the future, our mages believe he can once again be a valuable asset to Noxus. Your mission is to re-acquire the body from the Demacians._

That sounds easy enough, Katarina thought to herself as she checked the mission title. It read: _Operation: Corpse Retrieval_

"The lack of creativity with these mission names is astounding" She said out loud.

She flipped the page, and the picture immediately caught her attention. It was a picture of Garen Crownguard; she recognized the crisp blue eyes and auburn hair, not to mention that cocky ass smile on his face that she would give anything just to punch. She had forgotten how handsome he was, his face was perfectly crafter, it was a shame she would have to completely fuck it up, she thought. She read the instructions below his picture to see what her orders were regarding him.

 _Captain Garen Crownguard: Inhuman athleticism and incredible skill in sword fighting and hand-to-hand combat. Ferociously cunning and extremely dangerous. Avoid engaging if possible._

Wow just suck his dick too while you're at it, Katarina thought. She knew the report was right though, he was dangerous, but so was she. This fight was a long time coming, she had improved a lot and was confident she could beat him and was determined to do so. The reunion in Noxus would have to wait.

 _ ****3 Months Earlie**_ _r**_

Garen awoke on the floor in his new apartment with his head throbbing. He heard loud retching in the bathroom and could only assume it was Jarvan. He made his way to the living room, which was absolutely wrecked. Chips were all over the floor and pizza boxes discarded on the counter. He checked his couches to find Ezreal and Jayce laying on each one, Lux was lying on the carpet next to an empty bag of chips. He could only assume Lucian was in his room, while Janna and Fiora were in his. Vayne and Caitlyn were most likely at Quinn and Sona's place. The night before was spent out on the town celebrating the graduation of Ezreal, Jayce, Caitlyn and Fiora from the Demacian royal academy. They drank probably way more than was necessary, but the night, or what Garen could remember of it, was worth it.

Garen shook Ezreal and Jayce awake, much to their dismay.

"You guys are productive members of society now, and that means no sleeping in on Mondays."

"That's a bullshit rule." Jayce replied a pillow covering his face.

"Yeah, well, you still gotta follow it. It's 8:00 AM and you get your first official posting from Piltover at 10:00. So I'm gonna need you, Ezreal, and Janna to get dressed or General Laurent is gonna have my ass. "

"You deserve it, you're the one who convinced Gragas to make my drinks extra strong last night G." A hazy Ezreal added.

Garen laughed, he was really proud of his friends for graduating from the academy and was sure they would serve their city well. It had been amazing to reconnect with them and spend time with them since he was off-duty, but he knew that wouldn't last long.

"Hey would you shut up in here, Fiora and I are trying to sleep" Janna said as she walked into the living room rubbing her eyes. Her typically perfect blonde hair looked a mess, and she still had on her party clothes from the night before.

"Morning princess, I'm afraid I can't do that, because you're getting your assignment today, and for whatever reason, General Laurent made me responsible for you guys."

"Right because you're suuuuuuchhhhh a straight edge guy," Janna said with a smile, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Hell if Laurent knew about half the shit you got into during your time at the academy…"

"That's beside the point Janna" Garen said with a laugh.

"Anyway, I need you to get Fiora and go to Quinn's, she'll get you guys ready. There's a key to her place on my night stand."

"Gotcha, well anyway Garen, thanks for letting us stay over!" Janna said before retrieving Fiora and heading to Quinn's.

"Anytime, now lil sis, you and Shauna still have class today so I'd get going." Garen said to a barely awake Lux.

"Ugh, I forgot, why does the stupid ceremony have to be Sunday night? I'll get going, hopefully I'll catch you at Mom's later for that dinner party?" Lux asked her older brother.

It was Garen's turn to groan, "yeah maybe, I really don't want to though, I'm trying to avoid getting lectured."

"Garen, she hasn't seen you in a year, I'm sure she'll want to catch up with you… and then give you a lecture. So anyway, it's at 7:30 if you're going to come, call me on your ward later if you are!"

"You got it Lux, now get to class, you're supposed to be the good child." Garen said laughing.

Garen remembered Jarvan was probably still in the bathroom puking, he went to check on his childhood friend, who was talking to someone on his ward.

"Yeah he's here, when do you need us by? Can you make it 30 minutes later? Ok, alright, yeah, bye." Jarvan said hanging up his ward. "Oh good, Garen you're awake, Laurent needs us by 9:00."

Garen looked at his friend quizzically, "are you gonna be good to go by then?"

"Of course! I feel better alr… *puking*"

"I'll try to get it moved to 9:30" said Jarvan, who was still leaned over the toilet.

"Good idea, did general Laurent say what he wanted us for?" Garen asked Jarvan.

"Yeah, it was something about stealing Sion's body."

"What? Are you sure you're not still drunk?"

"No." Jarvan replied as he continued to vomit.

 **A/N: I know there were a lot of characters in this chapter, they will play more significant roles and get developed more, but I thought this chapter was already long enough.**


	4. First Encounter

_*Tuula Prison, Ionia*_

" _I want to see the prisoner."_

" _Sir? Which one?"_

" _You know the one."_

" _That's against security protocol, you need approval from the council."_

" _This is involving a recent case, it'll only be for a minute."_

" _Yes sir."_

 _Jhin sat in his dark, cramped cell, restless. The burning desire to create another masterpiece was driving him to madness. They couldn't understand why he did what he did, and they never would. They thought it was wrong, viciously murdering countless innocent people for the sake of art. Maybe they had a point, maybe. But what he knew was truly wrong was depriving the world of his genius. His style, his gusto, was unmatched. The world was his canvas, his gun the paintbrush, and the blood of his victims was his paint. Sometimes, he didn't know why he did what he did, he expected the faces of his victims to haunt him. But they never did. What haunted him was his undying need to kill again, to create more and more 'art' until it utterly consumed him._

" _This is his cell sir."_

" _Thank you, that will be all."_

" _Yes sir."_

" _Do you know who I am?"_

 _Jhin looked up, at the man who was now just outside the bars of his container. He had devious purple eyes, and wore the uniform of a high-ranking Ionian military officer._

" _I would assume you're a general in the military, come to tell me how fucked up I am and how I deserve to rot here for eternity" Jhin offered. The man simply smiled._

" _Not quite, all you need to know is that I'm a big fan of your work."_

 _That statement caught Jhin's attention, he was fully engaged now. The man took an elaborate key from his pocket and unlocked the door to his cell. "Come now, you're being 'transferred'" he beckoned. Jhin stepped out from inside the undersized room, still confused as to what was happening._

" _I have a present for you" said the man. He removed an object from his cloak, and Jhin's eyes widened. It was his gun, his paintbrush that he had missed so much._

" _For what is an artist without his tools to create? You will have good use for it in the future, of that, I'm sure. It is time for us to leave. Jhin still said nothing, he was in shock at the improbability of the situation, as they walked back down the hall towards the entrance of the secluded prison._

" _This prisoner is being transferred now."_

" _Sir I'm sorry but I cannot allow you to do that without confirming it with the counc…" A ball of dark energy ruptured his chest before he could finish. Jhin watched as the Ionian military officer morphed into a woman with pale skin and dark purple hair. "I would've let you do that, but we're in a bit of a hurry" she said. They exited the prison and stepped into the night. It was raining outside, Jhin hadn't seen rain for years. The feeling of the outside air was unfamiliar to him now._

" _Why are you helping me escape?"_

" _Because I believe we can help each other. I have in mind a project that could use your artistic vision." The woman replied_

" _You've piqued my interest. How big is this project exactly?" Jhin asked eliciting a chuckle from his new acquaintance_

" _Believe me when I say it will be your grandest masterpiece yet."_

 _*Noxus, Present day*_

"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Quinn asked, shielding her face from the bitter cold as the military column marched onward.

Garen just laughed. "I wish I knew, but unfortunately, it's what we signed up for," he reasoned.

"No it's what _you_ signed up for, I'm a scout, I don't do this kind of mission, and it's my weekend off." She complained, causing Garen to chuckle.

There were so many more things she rather be doing than this. She had planned a ski-trip with Janna, Sona, Fiora and Caitlyn for this very weekend when Garen had called her. She knew she couldn't say no to him, he was always willing to help her whenever she needed it. He was also one of her best friends, so when he asked for backup on an assignment he thought was dangerous, she was more than happy to make sure he was safe, despite how much she whined.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"You got that right, boy. Also couldn't you have asked Lucian or Jarvan? They're typically your first choices." She questioned.

"Lucian had a league match, and you think the General would allow Jarvan on a black ops mission?"

"Good point, but I'm kind of hurt I wasn't your go to" She teased with mock hurt.

"I can't win with you."

They were approaching Demacia's border with Noxus, with the body of Sion, a great Noxian warrior among their ranks. There were rumors that practitioners of black magic in Noxus were planning to reanimate him, and Demacia's government was quick to make sure that could not happen. The capture of the body was simple enough, along with elite fighters like Quinn and Garen, their convoy included 200 members of the Dauntless Vanguard. They had overwhelmed the Noxian outpost where the body was held, and secured the objective with relative ease. In less than a day, they would be in neutral territory where the Institute of War would prevent all fighting, and the mission would be successful.

"We're almost out of Noxian territory, so I guess it wasn't that bad" Quinn decided.

"Yeah I suppose, but the Institute of war was supposed to prevent these kinds of things from happening. It's bullshit we're even doing this in the first place" Garen stated, the frustration in his voice clearly evident.

Quinn knew Garen hated having to do these unnecessary jobs under the guise of patriotism, so she tried her best to console him. "Garen, the Institute of War prevents major wars, that's the best we can hope for."

"That's true" was his solemn answer.

While Garen still tried to avoid killing when there was another option, it seemed as though doing it out of necessity in times of battle seemed to bother him less, which Quinn was glad to see. If it had to be done, she didn't want him to mentally suffer from it.

"It's getting dark, do you want to stop here and set up camp?" She asked her friend. They were on a small grass plain, green deciduous forest ran along their eastern flank, and rugged mountains and rubble was the backdrop on the west. The geographical difference was striking.

"It's a little out in the open, but we're almost there so I guess it couldn't hurt. Do you think you could send Valor out to scout a little?"

"Already done. He's been doing that for the last 2 hours."

"It's this sort of planning that makes me happy that I asked you to come with me. We're stopping here, set up camp and a perimeter, and divide the patrol duties." Garen said to Quinn, before turning and giving orders to his men.

Camp was quickly set up, Quinn was always impressed by the efficiency and unity of the Vanguard, the Scouts were more of a solitary gig. After dinner, Quinn and Garen sat around the fire set up in the center of camp. There was a celebratory mood amongst the soldiers, as they considered this basically completed. That mood was interrupted by a call from Ezreal, which Garen and Quinn promptly answered.

"Hey man, what's up? Oh and say hi to Quinn, you're on speaker" Garen said

"Hey Quinn! I miss you! Oh and Jayce is here, and says he also misses you!" Ezreal exclaimed enthusiastically.

"I miss you guys too!" She answered.

"Alright, now what's up, is it something important or did you just feel like talking, I'm fine with either reason." Garen stated.

"Uhh I got some bad news, last week this really hot redhead robbed us."

"Ez what the… Jayce what's he talking about? Is he telling the truth?" Garen asked.

Jayce's voice came through "Um yeah she was pretty hot, to be honest he is telling the tru…"

"JAYCE!"

"Oh, right, sorry. We did in fact, get robbed, she stole the artifact. She had a lot of throwing knives too. Like A LOT. Like wayyyy more than she should have been able to carry around it was kind of ridiculous."

"Well damn, that sounds like it might have been Katarina Du Couteau, I've been hearing a lot about her, she sounds like a problem" Garen said.

"She definitely is, dude, she kicked our asses, but that's probably because we were arguing about night vision. Hey Garen, did you know Ezreal thinks you have night vision if you have green eyes? Isn't that dumb?" Jayce asked, before addressing Ezreal "See dude I told you, he thought it was dumb", "He didn't even answer!" "Yeah because he knows how dumb it is." They argued back and forth away from the call.

Garen and Quinn exchanged glances. "Ok guys we're gonna hang up now, you seem busy."

"Ok bye guys!" Ezreal yelled before Jayce hung up.

After the call was ended, Quinn sat in comfortable silence next to her friend, pondering what she wanted to do first when they got back to Demacia, but her thoughts were interrupted by a question from Garen. "Quinn, I know you've told me this before, but why did you want to join the Demacian military?" The question took her off guard, but Garen seemed genuinely interested and slightly solemn, so she answered.

"It was my brother and I's dream, it always was. We wanted to serve our country."

"Right, but why? Why was it your dream to serve Demacia?" He prompted.

She took a moment to think about the question before answering, "I wanted to help people, to do good in this world. I know it sounds dumb, but I wanted to be the hero in those stories we were told as children. I figured this would be the closest I could get to that." She said quietly. Garen smiled at her answer.

"Quinn, that doesn't sound dumb at all, you've always had that kindheartedness and desire to do what's right within you. It's one of the things about you that I admire most. It's just that…" he trailed off, hesitant to say what he was thinking.

"It's just that what?" she asked.

"Is this how you thought it would be? Being sent on shadow operations that serve no purpose aside from increasing our government's political power. With the peace that the Institute of war has brought between Noxus and Demacia, our resources could be spent actually fixing some of the problems the world faces."

"Garen, I'll admit that this mission probably isn't the best use of our time, but hopefully the things we are asked to do protect Demacia, and by making us stronger our people will be safer."

"There are people who exist outside of Demacia, Quinn." Garen said with a hint of frustration in his tone.

"I know that, and I know they need our help, but the stronger we are the more easily we can help them." She said slightly defensively.

Garen sighed, "I'm sorry, I know you care about Demacia as well as other nations, and you're right. I should really stop thinking about this stuff."

"No, you shouldn't. You have a good heart, and you always question things when you think they aren't right. That's one of the things about _you_ that I admire most." She said, offering her friend a reassuring smile.

He returned the expression before standing up, "Thank you, I really appreciate that. I'm going to try to get some sleep, we probably wanna start early tomorrow, good night" he said before heading in the direction of his tent. "Night" she replied.

Even after Garen left, their conversation stuck in her head. Why did she want to join the military? It seemed so obvious to her before. She thought back to the day when she had made that decision. The day she had lost her brother. Sona's family, the Buvelle's, were on a hunting expedition, tracking a tuskvore, an incredibly dangerous beast. They were chasing it through the wilderness near Quinn's hometown, where she and her brother would often explore. When Quinn and her brother encountered the Buvelle family, the tuskvore they had been hunting turned on them, and almost killed the matriarch, Sona's mother. If it weren't for Quinn and her brother intervening and drawing the beast away from the family, they certainly would have perished.

Instead, the two kids took on the tuskvore without hesitation, eventually killing it, but in the process Quinn lost her brother to the animal. She was broken by that, but knew that her brother would do it all again to save that family. She had his same resolve, even after the great loss and realized what she wanted to do. Protect and help people, so when Sona's mother offered her a chance at getting into the prestigious royal academy in return for saving her life, she took it without a second thought. She had come a long way since then, and her passion for helping people was still strong. How exactly was she doing that now? She wondered. The uncertainty that started to creep into her mind bothered her, and she decided it was time to call it a night, maybe things would make more sense in the morning.

"Wake up, pretty boy. We're being ambushed"

"Wha… how early is it." Garen answered, barely aware of his surroundings.

"GAREN! WE. ARE. BEING. AMBUSHED. WAKE. UP!" Quinn yelled.

Garen opened his eyes only to be met by a frantic looking Quinn. He quickly snapped back into his senses, and leapt out of his cot. "Right, Shit" he cursed, as he chaotically put on his armor and grabbed his weapon. "Let's go" he said to Quinn as they exited the tent into the cold morning air. It was barely dawn, and the camp wasn't in flames as he was expecting. "Quinn, where's this ambush you were talking about?"

"Unlike you, I was alert, and made sure I took the patrol shift at the most likely time of ambush, and it hasn't begun yet, but Valor spotted movement in the forest towards the east."

Garen took in the information and processed it while deciding the best course of action. "Let's wake everyone, I doubt they sent a large force to attack us this far away from the city, that would be impractical, we can probably fight them outright." He never got the chance to ready his soldiers, as a Noxian war horn bellowed in the distance. "EVERYBODY UP! WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!" he screamed, as he and Quinn sprinted around the camp waking up the soldiers. The battle began before they were properly ready. The enemy soldiers seemed to materialize out of the woods, as they marauded down towards the camp. From what Garen could see they consisted of heavy infantry, as well as lightweight assassin type fighters.

Although the Noxian force was half the size of his, Garen knew how valuable the element of surprise could be, and it gave the Noxians the boost they needed to compete against a much larger force. "Quinn, take the west side, I'll go east" he told his friend as she nodded and darted away, while he steeled himself for battle and charged.

Now, while he never enjoyed gratuitous killing, one could not deny that he had a natural talent for it. He lost himself to the adrenaline, and his inhibitions along with it. He decimated the soldiers he faced; 3, 4, 5 at a time, it didn't matter. His men regrouped and followed him, taking the upper hand against the Noxian contingent, or so he thought. He turned to send some of his men away to guard Sion's body, but was met with the spray of their blood, as they seemed to evaporate next to him in a blur of black and red.

Katarina had to give him credit, even with the ambush, which was perfectly timed, he had managed to tip the scale back to even, especially with the help of that girl and her giant eagle, who were eating through the western flank of Katarina's forces. Regardless, everything seemed to be going as planned. Catching the Demacians in disarray, she hoped her troops could distract them enough to steal back Sion. The sun had just started to rise and she was doing her part, eliminating as many Demacians as she could. She was a devastating presence on the battlefield, but when she saw him there, slicing her compatriots, she couldn't help herself.

Katarina moved swiftly, almost blinking into existence and back out as she punctured the Jugular's of the men surrounding Garen. She then aimed for his neck, hoping she could kill him that easily. She couldn't. Her blades were met with his massive great-sword. How he managed to move the gargantuan weapon that fast was a mystery to her, but judging by the look on his face, he was most likely wondering how _she_ moved as quickly as she did.

After deflecting her blow, he took a rapid swing at her that she barely managed to redirect away from her midsection. She leapt away from him, trying to avoid the range of his weapon before unleashing a barrage of her throwing knives. He swatted most of them away like they were tennis balls and his sword was a giant racquet. However, all was not in vain as he winced in pain. One of her knives lodged in between cracks in his armor around his shoulder.

She got a good look at him, sizing him up. He was 6'4, and possessed massive arms and wide shoulders. His body seemed to ripple with powerful, explosive muscle. That would justify the grace and sharpness with which he moved his weapon. The sword was huge, it looked like it weighed 30 pounds, but when he used it, it might as well have weighed an ounce. His armor looked heavy too, the blue and gold plates offered ample protection. Given the pause in combat, he spoke.

"You just threw like 20 knives at me, there's no way you have more" he said incredulously.

A wicked smile spread across her face, "you'd be surprised" she said tauntingly.

"Then I guess you must be Katarina Du Couteau."

"You guessed right, Garen Crownguard."

"Well I suppose there's no need to introduce myself" he replied, bringing his sword to a combat ready position.

Katarina took the motion as an invite to attack, and that she did. She was finally facing him, the man who she begrudgingly owed her life to. She was determined to find out if he was as good as they said, and as the battle between them wore on, she did find out. Their skirmish was a deadly waltz, he used his power, and she used her speed, the clash of steel rang out through the battlefield. She was narrowly managing to parry his attacks, and she received punishing cuts on a few occasions. The fight was taking its toll on him as well, as he suffered less severe wounds, but they were incredibly numerous.

In her mind, she felt a sensation she never thought she would after all the training she received. That sensation was fear. For the first time in her life, she faced an opponent who could kill her if she made one mistake, one misstep. Yet that fear was accompanied by exhilaration, the fight made her feel truly alive and human. It was a strange combination, and she wondered if he felt it too, but she knew he must have, when she hurt him badly he began to fight more cautiously. He didn't take as many risks it seemed. The fear was definitely there, as was the excitement. Katarina could have sworn that his royal blue eyes were glowing for the duration of their encounter.

They were locked at a stalemate, Garen was unable to hit her badly enough, and she couldn't break his guard _and_ avoid his power striking. They stood there, a good distance apart, panting and bloody. However, he stood tall, and his face remained unblemished, with that arrogant expression which she hated so much. She resorted to mind games, hoping to gain an advantage. She attacked his "pure" Demacian ethics. "You know, you Demacians are huge hypocrites. You murder so many people and still look as smug as you do right now" she taunted in between breaths.

"It's war. There is no murder in war. Besides, why would I listen to the opinion of an assassin?" He retorted, with a hint of doubt in his voice, surprising Katarina. She continued to probe. "You keep telling yourself that, and at least we are honest about our principles, you preach justice and morality, yet continue to start these pointless conflicts. " The smug expression was now gone from his face, replaced by what appeared to be growing anger. She added a final touch she thought might tip him. "I wonder if your mother could ever love you or be proud of you, knowing what you've done." That last sentence did the trick.

He was twitching with rage, and attacked with abandon. His incoming assault was feral, but still incredibly skilled. He was no longer playing a game of tactics, he was swinging at her with everything. Each time she blocked his giant sword, even with perfect technique, her arms felt as though they might shatter. She had to be patient and pick her moment. After a heavy downward swing that she dodged, she saw her opening. He overcommitted on a horizontal slash, which she side stepped and parried, forcing him past her, as she flung the hilt of her dagger into his face, connecting and drawing blood from his mouth and smashing his head.

He seemed stunned, but still dodged her next attacks, which she had hoped would finish him. He distanced himself from her, and checked his bottom lip, which was currently red with blood, with a steady hand. He looked at his fingers, before spitting the rest of the red liquid out of his mouth. He then turned his gaze onto her, his face now wore a sinister smile, and the cockiness was back, too. It was his turn to talk.

"You must really be trying to disappoint your parents with that outfit huh?" He suggested snarkily.

Katarina didn't know whether it was those blue eyes, his strong jaw, or those broad shoulders, but for some reason she felt slightly self-conscious when he made the comment. It wasn't like her to be bothered by the opinions of men she didn't care about, but this was somehow different. She held her nerve though "Really now? Is that the best insult you've got? I must really have you flustered." He was just getting started, however. The next time he hit a little closer to home. "That's a cool scar," he said sarcastically. "Did your father give it to you after one of your failed missions?" It was no secret that her father was typically very harsh on failure when she was younger, and while he didn't give her the scar, the jab reminded her of all the outbursts she endured from her father as a child before he had mellowed out more recently. The statement bothered her, but still she said nothing.

Garen continued, "I wouldn't worry about that scar though, you weren't the pretty sister anyway" he said with a cruel smile.

The last comment hurt as much as any blade. It opened a wound she thought had closed, she was a talented assassin, incredibly skilled, and had no doubt that her father was proud of her. It was just the fact that she never seemed to curry as much favor from her mother as Cassiopeia did. Cass was beautiful, and followed in the footsteps of her mother. She was always complimented on how pretty and sweet she was, comments that Katarina didn't receive. Her mother may have loved her, but Katarina always preferred the blade and combat, and couldn't help but feel as though her mother saw her as a monster. The anger and hurt welled up inside her, and her fists tightened around her daggers.

"Oh what's the matter? Did I strike a nerve?"

The dumbass was still talking. Katarina reached a breaking point and charged at him, it was her turn to be reckless and wildly hack and slash. She knew how dangerous the strategy was, but her emotions were uncontrollable, just as they had been for Garen when she taunted him. Luckily for her, something about him was off. He was concussed from the dagger blow she had delivered to his face, and was struggling to deal with her relentless storm of strikes. She connected on a bunch of them, slashing his thigh, slicing a bicep and drawing red ribbons across his abdomen where is armor didn't provide cover.

He tried hopelessly to go on the offensive with a desperate swing, but ended up exposing himself. She swept his legs out from under him with a solid kick, putting him on his back and disarming him. The moment seemed to give her clarity, and she snapped out of the bloodthirsty trance. He looked up at her expectantly, he clearly attempted to sound brave, but his eyes let him down. He was scared, and she could see it. Katarina took out a throwing knife and held it to his throat

"Well go on then," he said through his façade of fearlessness.

She looked him in the eyes, and raised her knife preparing for the finishing blow. Garen clenched his teeth and shut his eyes in anticipation. When he heard the sound of the knife lodging in his armor, he opened his eyes, thoroughly shocked. Katarina relished the moment, he was dumbfounded, just as she expected. "Consider us even, Crownguard."

She left him there, concussed and confused, happy with the choice she had made. It was symbolic for her, she had paid off her debt, and with it gained a new control on her life. No longer would she worry about those thoughts that made her jealous of her sister, and feel inadequate. Garen had hit a weak spot with his comment, and made her angry, she wanted to kill him, and she had the chance, but she exercised restraint. She had just proved to herself that those emotions had no power over her. She was in total control.

Garen was still stunned by the interaction. He had so many questions, and his brain seemed unable to handle them. His head felt like it was cracked all over, and the pain was sharp. He knew he had a bad concussion, but was it bad enough to imagine that she had just let him live? He looked down at his breastplate, where the proof lay. Her knife was still jutting out of his armor, so he wasn't hallucinating. Garen had almost forgotten that there was a battle going on, but the Noxians seemed to be retreating. He was still dazed, and barely managed to stand as Quinn ran over to him. "What happened to you? It looks like you got your ass kicked" she asked him.

"Yeah, I did. It was Katarina dust container, or whatever. Sorry I'm still a little woozy, she got me pretty good, but at least we won right?" He managed to spit out.

"Yeahhhhhh about that… they took the body, the mission is failed" Quinn replied.

"Oh, that is good to hear" Garen replied without an ounce of sarcasm or humor in his voice.

Quinn gave him a perplexed look, "Garen, are you ok?"

"No I am not," he answered, as he fainted and his world turned to black.

 **A/N: So I know one of you guys said Katarina was a little too soft for you last chapter. That was my attempt at making her more human. In this story, most of the characters are in their early twenties, so I thought it would be kind of wild for them to be immediately ok with killing, regardless of how much training they received. With this chapter I wanted to give Katarina her badassery back. I feel like I was underselling her fighting ability, which wasn't my intention. My view on her as well as Garen is that they are probably two of the most skilled combat fighters in Valoran, at least in this world that I'm writing. This chapter I hope you'll see Katarina is starting to develop that confidence and power that we're so used to, again she's still young in this rendition so she wouldn't have as much bravado yet, but after that fight, she's dispelled her uncertainty and has evolved as a person. Also, I did decide to give Garen a bit of a mean streak. That insult about the sister/sibling relationship was kind of a dick thing to say. I just wanted a change from how he's typically portrayed, like he's some kind of unfeeling, brainless robot. Instead he's a little cocky, and irreverent, but still for the most part morally a good person. I know his questioning of his government might get tedious, so there will be a slight break from it so he can just go fight and kill stuff without a moral dialogue. That's not to say I'm abandoning that aspect, but as he gets older, he will become more numb to it. The first scene reveals the first main villain of the story, he will have a big role, and also I'm trying my best to develop the supporting cast little by little. I can't promise every single character will be completely fleshed out, but the important ones will be. This chapter was Quinn's turn, and I would love to know what you thought of her. Lastly PLEASE keep reviewing, favoriting, and following, it makes me so much more excited to write and update knowing that I'm sharing the story with people!**


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